This February 5, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan hosted a conference on the theme ‘Uniting to Make New Uzbekistan a Country Free from Corruption!’ The event analyzed the ongoing reforms in the field of combating corruption in the country, and corruption in the internal affairs agencies, as well as discussed effective measures that need to be taken to combat this evil.

Representatives of the Anti-Corruption Agency also attended the conference. They briefed on the essence of the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan ‘On measures to implement a rating system for evaluating the effectiveness of anti-corruption work.’

The Anti-Corruption Agency specialists noted that, in accordance with this Resolution the issues are considered to impose disciplinary sanctions in the prescribed manner to the heads of government agencies and institutions whose activities are recognized as ‘unsatisfactory’ in terms of evaluating the effectiveness of anti-corruption work.

The conference also touched upon the issues regarding the reforms carried out in the field of internal affairs at the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The participants noted that over the past period, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan ‘On Internal Affairs Agencies’, a number of decrees and resolutions regulating the activities of law enforcement agencies have been adopted, and there have also been positive changes in the social and material security of the sector workers. However, despite this, there were occurred cases of corruption crimes, including bribery, participation in bribery, fraud, forgery in public office.

In particular, out of a total of 4901 appeals received by the Anti-Corruption Agency in 2021, 343 or 7 percent were complaints against the actions and decisions of law enforcement officers.

According to the analysis, in 2020, 46 law enforcement officers were prosecuted for corruption offenses. In 2021, this figure almost doubled: 89 employees committed 119 corruption crimes.

Of them:

• 47 - under Article 206 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
• 18 - under Article 209 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
• 18 - under Article 211 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
• 14 - under Article 168 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
• 13 - under Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
• 9 - other corruption crimes.

The event also touched upon the issue of an anonymous survey conducted among the population in order to study the activities of law enforcement agencies in areas with a difficult crime situation.

In total, 5883 ordinary residents and 4067 employees of the internal affairs agencies took part in the survey. In order to cover all segments of the population, the survey was conducted in enterprises, institutions and organizations, universities, medical facilities, communities and public places in each region. Based on the survey, factors contributing to corruption in law enforcement agencies were identified.

After making a detailed analysis on each identified factor, the conference participants noted that today measures are being taken to develop preventive mechanisms aimed at eradicating corruption.

Press Office
The Anti-Corruption Agency